Over the last few days I’ve been on a web-hiatus taking care of a few things. We sometimes forget that there is so much more going on in the world around us. But I must say, it was definitely a refreshing experience. And it got me thinking about a few things that are quite frankly more than just interesting. It raised a question that I asked myself and one I ask to everyone else in Gen-Y: are we holding ourselves back?
At first glance, the question seems very open. You could answer it in a more than a few ways. However, what I’m trying to root out are some fundamental issues that exist within the Gen-Y way of life. What I came up with even got me going a little. And the only reason I actually started thinking about this was because I started reflecting on my own job-hunting situation.
By alles-schlumpf
After reflecting and mulling over this for more than I would’ve liked, I came up with a few realizations that we as Gen-Y and Millennials must to go over. Here are 3 issues that every member of Gen-Y can resonate with. And something all of us in Gen-Y have to go over, even realise.
Riding the Coat-tails of Our Parents
Being a Gen-Y kid has been a smooth ride. It seems almost too smooth. Thanks to a Baby Boomer generation that seemed to have did all the hard work and suffering, Gen-Y can live life a lot easier. Don’t get me wrong, I really appreciate what my parents have done and everyone else should appreciate what their parents have done for them. But I and all of Gen-Y have never really had to live a life where we had to take all of our decisions seriously. We’ve always had our parents to bail us out. They were there when we needed something. And they’re there now while we do our Gen-Y thing. So what’s the rush to do anything, right?
“Entitlement”, “Deserving More” and “Don’t Settle For Anything”
Our parents have lived a harder lifestyle than we might have ever conceived and that has put some interesting thoughts into our heads. A combination of us wanting to live better lives than our parents and our parents wanting better for us has put us in a “don’t settle for anything” frame of mind. We think we are better than entry-level jobs. We think we deserve more than entry-level jobs. We are self-professed experts. We want the world. We are entitled to the best. Are we delusional? Definitely not. But we haven’t lived a life past generations have and we are lacking a clear understanding of many aspects of it.
The Dream Life
Rather than working towards a dream life, Gen-Y wants to live the dream life now. We want to travel the world now. We want that Benz now. We want that managerial job now. We want the wealth now. Forget about working for anything. How many of you didn’t apply to a job position because you believed you were better than what the job description offered. Well I certainly have. Is it a mistake to pass these positions up? Absolutely. Where else will you get the experience.
And even though there are newer versions of “experience” opening up thanks to technology. One thing is for sure, the majority of us will have to climb the ladder to get where we would like. Not to say we aren’t great minds. But the fact of the matter is that there are millions of great minds that you have to compete with just for the simple jobs. You can’t put yourself above them unless you have proved to be above and beyond great.
So I come back to the question: are we, Gen-Y, holding ourselves back? I would say we most certainly are. I wouldn’t say that the way we think is a fatal flaw. However, most of us have never had to live a life where we have had to make serious decisions. Or work any job because we had to pay for bills and feed the family. Or live in a sense of urgency and uncertainty. We aren’t entitled to more and we don’t deserve more. I’m not saying you should go out and just take any job. But if the opportunity does present itself and it involves what you would like to do in the future, it would definitely be a stepping stone to fulfilling the dream you want.
There are definitely a few exceptions to this but not everyone can be the exception. Neither am I saying that nothing is possible. I think anything is possible. But you have to realise that previous generations have spent their entire lives working to get themselves anywhere close to their dreams. What makes us so special that we’ll get that without really doing anything…
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Great comment! You've definitely hit on some great points and the one point I think you really hit on is the matter that we as Gen-Y really face the same problems other generations have faced however those problems have been reshaped to be "exclusive" Gen-Y issues. Everything is also an issue of the fact that live is becoming better in many respects and unfortunately previous generations have had to live a "tough life" and we have to learn those same lessons. That's not to say our life is any easier. Rather we face a different sense of issues that make our life tough.
But I will add that everything seems to be an issue of petty differences. We would be more productive focusing and solving the issues at hand rather than, in a sense, being "name-callers" and "jealous". Its unfortunate that life before couldn't be as glamorous as it seems to be now. And for these reasons it is a big mistake on the part of society to "put-down" Gen-Y. A problem that has stemmed by on part from everyone, even those of us in Gen-Y.
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